My Brothers
by Soldier-Girl-506
Summary: My name is Crystal Collins but I'm known as Chris. I was in the Navy SEALS and we went on one mission that changed me. Our team consisted of Mike Murphy, Danny Dietz, Matt Axelson, Marcus Luttrell, and me. Our team was one of the best and they were all my brothers. The mission we went on will forever haunt me until the day I die.
1. Team

**Team**

I'm from Austin, Texas and my best friend is Marcus Luttrell. We were neighbors as kids and we grew close to one another. We've always had a sibling relationship our whole lives. Once we became of age, we both signed up to be in the Navy SEALS together. We had a team that consisted of Michael P. 'Murph' Murphy as the leader, me, Marcus, and Matthew 'Axe' Axelson as snipers, and Danny Dietz as the communication specialist. Our team was one of the best teams.

Danny, Mike, and Axe all had their own girls back home while I was still single but so was Marcus. I was alright with it since my team was all I needed. The boys would always tease me about it but I would laugh it off. The team was my family. All four of them were my brothers, my boys. I wouldn't let anything happen to them. I would die before I let them get hurt.

I was in my room, sleeping when I was rudely woken up by Mike. I felt someone grab my shoulders and shake them as my head was stuffed under my pillow. I groaned and shrugged the person off but they kept shaking me. "Come on, Chris. Get up."

"What?" I poke my head out from under my pillow, keeping the warm blankets around my body.

Mike sat next to me on my bed and shoved his laptop in my face. I saw it was a picture of two Arabian horses running alongside the beach. I look at up him with an irritated expression, shrugging my shoulders and shaking my head, not knowing what he wants. "Heather wants me to get these for her wedding present. Should I get 'em?"

"The hell should I know? Do I look like the kind of girl who knows anything about a wedding? Jesus."

"Well, you are a girl so you should know."

I sigh as I toss my hands in the air. "I don't know, Mike. It would cost a lot of money but it would make her happy. If it were me, I would want them but I wouldn't get them 'cause I know I would need the money later in life for a house and stuff. But, do whatever you want, it's not my life."

"Well, thanks for not being much help." Mike mumbles as he gets up and starts to walk out my room.

"Wait!"

He turns around, with raised eyebrows. "What?"

"Is that all you wanted? That's the reason you woke me up?"

"Yeah." He shrugged his shoulders like it wasn't a big deal.

I flip him off and growl as he walks out, "Fuckin' asshole."

I raise my head a bit to see what time it is and I groan again when I see it's almost nine in the morning. I plop back in my bed and stuff my head under the pillow, covering myself back up with the blankets, hoping nobody else will come in. I knew it was time to wake up for everyone and breakfast was about to be served but I just wanted to sleep. We usually go in each other's rooms and wake 'em up, not caring that they were asleep.

I was almost asleep again when the door slammed open, making me jump. I let out a small yell as I turn to see who it was but I relax and close my eyes once more when I only see Marcus. I hear his footsteps coming towards me and gently shakes me. "Come on, Chris. Time to wake up, Danny and Murph are doin' their run and we gotta be there for breakfast."

I swat his hands away, burying myself further into my bed. I heard him sigh and take a few steps back. "Do I have to dump water on you? You know I will."

"Go away." I mumble.

"Alright but you asked for it."

I heard his footsteps fade away in the distance and I felt like I was allowed to sleep again. But the second I think this, I hear his footsteps coming again. I was confused for a moment; he always threatens me like this but never goes through with them. Before I could think, a bunch of cold water splashed on top of my head, soaking me. I scream as I launch up to my feet, glaring at the bastard.

He was already running out of the room, laughing by the time I could realize he really dumped ice water on me. "You son of a bitch!"

I ended up getting dressed and walking out of my room but my hair was still wet. I met up with Axe and we walked outside together and by the time we got out there, it looked like they just got done with their run and Marcus told them their time. Axe spoke up first. "Who won?"

"Murph. Murph, barely. By one second." Marcus informs us.

"Barely? Come on, Mikey, you gotta be better than that!" I tease.

"Oh, shut up, Collins! How about you and me race, see who wins, huh?"

"No, thanks. I don't feel like waking up earlier than usual and running fifty miles." I sit down next to Marcus and across from Mike as Danny keeps standing and Axe sits next to me.

Danny looks at me funny for a moment and asks, "Chris, you take a shower?"

I turn to glare at Marcus as he starts to smirk. "Close enough. I got woken up by dumbass over here, who poured a bucket of ice water on me."

At that moment, all the boys laughed and made fun of me for it. I shook my head and glared at them, crossing my arms. Once they calmed down, they went back to talking about the racing between Danny and Mike. "Head shave?" Marcus suggests out of nowhere.

"Head shave or what? I don't know, you know? It's something to think about. If I shave his head, I have to focus on his face. Face, ears. Oddly-shaped head." Mike objects.

"Well, I don't want to be looking at him that close, either, but he has been running his mouth about beating you."

"Really?"

"Fuck, a head shave is fair."

"Axe? Better shave him!" I call out while Danny glared at me.

"Make him go eat with the E-3s, work in the chow hall until it grows back." Axe agrees.

"Frankie, what do you think?" Marcus asks one of the guys in our group.

"Why the fuck wouldn't we shave him?"

"That's valid." Mike points out. "Patton, not that we care, but what do you think? Let me see you make a tactical decision right now."

We all turn to one of the newer kids in the group, who was behind us. "Well, I could see both ways on this. He did lose but he was close. And your Mike Murphy."

"You are Mike Murphy. The Mike Murphy." We all mumble in agreement.

" I would've expected a bigger separation." Patton continues.

"That is a good point." Marcus and I agree at the same time.

"Backhand compliment." Mike whispers. "Patton. Grab my razor."

"Razor, copy that." He gets up and goes to leave but got stopped.

The door opens and it reveals Lieutenant Kristensen. "Listen up! Red Wings a go. Tonight, eighteen hundred."

That was our unit. I nod my head, not real excited, just like the rest of the guys. "Beautiful." Mike murmurs.

"Am I going?" Patton asks, excitedly.

"PLO in an hour." Kristensen continues but then leaves.

"Maybe I'll go!" Patton beams, looking at our group as we walk past him.

"It's a maybe. I'll give you a maybe. Stay optimistic." Marcus rejects.

We all go to the computer room and see what the mission is. It shows us a picture of an Arabian on the screen, giving us all the information on him. Mike starts speaking, our attention on him. "The objective of this mission is to capture and kill Ahmad Shah. Bad guy. Senior Taliban commander responsible for killing Marines in eastern Afghanistan. A Tier I target."

"If you want a positive ID, note that Shah had no earlobes." Axe points out to everyone.

The screen switches to another picture of a different Arabian as Mike continues. "Taraq. His right-hand man. Seems to do most of his chief shit for him. We're going in on a five-man recon team. Axelson, you'll be point. Myself, I'll be second. Dietz, comms. Marcus, rear, med. Collins, you be with Markus and back up. Axe give us our route."

"We're gonna be moving up the backside of this mountain here, which is gonna offer great concealment from the village. I'm estimating that it's gonna take us between three and four hours, depending upon the gradient of the terrain which is that crappy shale." Axe informs, giving us a diagram on the screen. "So please lace up."

Marcus then goes up to the board, giving us more information. "First things first. You're gonna win the fight. No medicine in a gun fight. Two weeks ago, Team 8 was near where we're gonna be. Capelli got bit by a rattlesnake. Contrary to popular belief, there is poison oak, so watch your cock and balls, 'cause that will suck."

I roll my eyes at him, shaking my head. He can be so childish at time even during a serious moment. That moment, Danny stands up and joins the others up front. "Murph's got the satphone. The angle of this region is very steep. Expect typical comms problems. We're gonna be on two-hour comms windows. If we miss two windows, I'd say wake somebody up. If not, don't sweat it."

Once he is finished, I stand up from my seat and go up front. "Waypoint one is Budweiser. Waypoint two is Miller. Three is Corona. Four is Heineken. And for our OP 1, Schlitz Malt Liquor. And if and when we ID Shah, pass Rick James."

We all sit down once we finish talking, the General takes our place, standing up front, next to the screen. "Gentlemen, these are your Rules of Engagement. US Force will comply with the Law of Armed Conflict at all times. Use of deadly force is authorized. If you do come under attack, use the appropriate force necessary to deter or defeat that threat."

Later that day after the meeting, we assemble in a small room where we are going over the plan and timing. Kristensen has four toy helicopters in his hands and show us what we are doing. "We take off here at eighteen hundred hours. Two Chinooks and two Apaches. We fly here to the LZ, insert the five-man team right here. Then we fly thirty minutes to J-Bad. Here, we'll have fifteen team guys and about a dozen Marines standing by all night. When we hear _Schlitz Malt Liquor_, we're heading back to Bagram for phase two. The QRF will stay here at J-Bad. Now the Apaches stay with the Black Hawks. The movement is so we can get the forty-sevens back here ready to bring up to phase two, once you get eyes on Shah."

We all nodded to let him know we understood and he quickly announced, "Oh! I'm bringing up tomorrow night's new guy's presentation to fourteen hundred, today so that all may revel and partake."

We all whistle and cheer, almost making fun of Patton. The look on his face clearly made it known to everyone that he was nervous and frustrated. I stood next to Mike and Axe came up to us and stated, "A lot of moving parts."

"Damn right. I don't know if I'll be able to keep up." I agree.

" You better be able to keep up, Chris. Otherwise one of us or all of us will end up kicking your ass." Mike declares.

"You wouldn't hit a girl, would ya?" I mock.

"From all the time I've known you, are you even considered to still be a girl?" He smirks.

I pretend to gasp and act hurt for a moment. "How dare you! In case you haven't noticed, I am still a girl! And I know that because I don't have balls and instead, I've got breasts."

Both boys laugh as I sassily stomp out of the room, throwing my hair back. Once we got all the information we needed about the mission, we all went outside and sat at a picnic table, eating lunch. Danny was telling us something about his girl back home and something she wants for flooring. "We were going to wait and then she gets her head into it. There's no stopping her, man. She's goin' all out."

"You know what; you should just let her do it." Mike says. "You got a handyman woman. That's a good thing."

"He's afraid of losing control over his castle."Axe smirks.

"He's having control issues 'cause he's the one who's always made the taste decisions in the family, right?" Marcus guesses.

"She's got great taste. I….I trust her." Danny decides.

"Well, what does she like?" I ask.

"Rose Honeydew."

"What the hell is that? A color?"

He nods his head and Marcus objects. "You gotta control that situation."

"It's very ongoing. New grass leads to new bushes by the window, leads to new curtains, leads to new sofa, leads to new carpet, leads to new floor."

"New baby." Axe interrupts.

"Dude, she's pregnant? How far along is she? You know if it's a boy or girl?" We all question.

"No, she's not pregnant. She's just on a weird journey, moving through the house, one room to the next."

"Sounds expensive." Marcus comments.

"Sounds pregnant." I laugh, the boys laughing along but Danny glaring at me.

"What about you, huh, Chris? Why don't you have a guy, yet? Where's your prince charming?"

"I don't have one 'cause of you boys." They all look confusingly at me, not understanding. "You scare all the guys away! If it wasn't for you four, I would already be married and having children."

"Oh really? In all the years we've known you; I have never _once_ seen you with another guy." Mike points out.

"Well, then you should have seen me in high school. I was a guy magnet." I smirk.

"Alright, now that's the biggest load of bullshit I have ever heard!" Marcus lets out.

I quickly turn to him, giving him a warning look. I shake my head, silently asking him not to tell them the truth. All the other guys look between us, looking interested. "Well, then. What was she like back in high school?"

"Marcus, don't tell them." I hiss.

"Oh, come on! It's not like it'll matter, anyway. It's in the past, they won't judge you." Marcus tries to convince.

"No! Come on, be a buddy here! Don't do it, please. I'm beggin' ya!"

He shrugs and looks at the other three with a smirk. "She was the loner. I swear, in school, it was like she was mute. Never talked to anyone, never hung out with anyone, nothing. The only person that would hang out with her was me. And that was because we were neighbors and we were already friends before school. Back in high school she was known as _The Loner_."

I bang my head on the table, letting out a big sigh. I felt like my life just got ruined. I hated it when someone knew about my past. I hated it even with Marcus knowing about it and he was there through it all with me. I felt embarrassed by it, like people would judge me because of it.

Someone clapped me on the back and gave my shoulder a squeeze. I look to see Danny, who had a kind expression. "Marcus' right. It doesn't matter. Look at ya, now! You're always cussing, we can never get you to shut up, and you love to piss us off. Looks like you came a long way."

I smile, knowing they were always there to cheer me up. We finished lunch with lots of jokes and laughter. Soon enough, after lunch, we all assembled in a large room, waiting for Patton to come for his presentation. I was sitting in between Danny and Mike as we waited. Finally, after a few minutes, Patton walked in the door. One of the guys called out, "You're fuckin' late!"


	2. The Mission

**Mission**

We all sat in recliners as the kid stood in front of everyone and said, "Sir, I'm good to go."

He was about to start but Kristensen interrupted. "No! You should introduce yourself and tell us something about you we don't know."

Patton nods his head and starts off with, "Alright. Petty Officer…"

The second he says that, everyone starts yelling at him, throwing garbage and anything we could find at him. Soon enough, Kristensen stood up and stopped it. "Hey, settle down. Remember what it was like for you."

"…Petty Officer…" he starts again.

The same exact thing happened except nobody stood up for him. But the kid was smiling as he was trying to dodge some of the garbage. We stopped after a minute and he stood there, not knowing what to do at the moment. "Mr. Patton, please."

He then turned around and music starts out of nowhere. He starts dancing around, making up dance moves. He bobs his head backward and forward like he's a fucking Egyptian. He spins himself and makes some kind of pose with his hands in the air and his ass sticking out. I burst out laughing and Danny covers my eyes, not letting me look.

The music stops I hear Mike comment, "Really, really bad."

"Dude, that was traumatizing!" Marcus announces. "Look at what you did to our girl, over there! She has to shield her eyes!"

Everyone laughs and Danny moves his hand from my face and pats me on the back. Axe stands next to Patton and asks, "Can we vote to push him through? Because I can't see that ever again. Hands up!"

Almost everyone in the room raises their hands, agreeing with him. "Push him through!"

"I don't know. Can he say it?" Mike questions.

"Can you say it? Prove it." Marcus joins.

Patton clears his throat and we wait for him to start. He says he can say it but he hasn't. We all wait silently, watching him as he shuffles his feet nervously up front. Marcus shakes his head. "Come on. No more fucking around. Come on."

Patton takes a deep breath and stares at us all for a moment before standing up straight and talks. "Been around the world twice. Talked to everyone once. Seen two whales fuck. Been to three world fairs. I even know a man in Thailand with a wooden cock. I push more peter more sweeter and more computer than any other peter pusher around. I'm a hard-boiled, hairy-chested, rootin' tootin' shootin', parachutin' demolition double cap crimpin' frogman. There ain't nothin' I can't do. No sky too high, no sea too rough, no muff too tough. Been a lot of lessons in my life. Never shoot a large caliber man with a small caliber bullet. Drove all kinds of trucks. 2by's, 4by's, 6by's and those big mother fuckers that bend and go 'Shhh Shhh' when you step on the brakes. Anything in life worth doing is worth overdoing. Moderation is for cowards. I'm a lover, I'm a fighter, I'm a UDT Navy SEAL diver. I'll wine, dine, intertwine, and sneak out the back door when the refueling is done. So if you're feeling froggy, then you better jump, because this frogman's been there, done that and is going back for more. Cheers boys."

We all cheer, clapping for him. That was way better than I expected. I thought the kid was gonna be tripping over his words the whole time, not knowing what to say. Instead, it seemed like he practiced that a hundred times, knowing every word.

Before I knew it, we were all loaded up and in gear, waiting for the helicopters. We all sat around on the cement, waiting when we heard the sound of the routers spinning. We look up and see they are just about to land near us. We hop in the chopper and take our seats. As we were flying to our destination, I got this sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach. I almost felt nauseous at the feeling. I had a bad feeling about this mission.

I stare hard at the ground as we were in the air. I couldn't shake the feeling, no matter how hard I tried and what I thought. I was snapped out of my thoughts by something hitting my foot. I look down to see another foot slightly nudging mine. I look to see who it belonged to and saw Marcus across from me, giving me a worried glance.

I shake my head, silently telling him that I didn't want to talk. He leaned forward in his seat. "Something wrong, Chris?"

I shake my head again, not making eye contact. I knew that if I told him, he would just say it was the nerves. I knew something was gonna happen this time and I didn't like it. He looked in my eyes as he grabbed my hands and gave them a gentle squeeze as he whispered, "Hey. Crystal, what's wrong? Are you ok?"

I then look in his eyes and see they are filled with nothing but concern and care. I take a deep breath before answering, "Something's gonna happen. Remember how I always get this feeling when something bad might happen during a mission? I got this feeling right now and its making me feel sick to my stomach."

"What do you think might happen? One of us gets hit?" he asks, taking my fear into account.

"I don't know. I don't wanna think like that but I can't think of anything else that could really go wrong."

"Well…don't worry, alright? We'll look out for each other and we got each other's back. We don't only protect ourselves but we protect the team. Don't forget that."

I smile gratefully at him as he leans back in his seat and rests, just like the others. I stay awake the whole time as the hours went by. I was lost in my thoughts so it seemed the hours went by as minutes. I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep even if I tried. There were too many possibilities that could happen during this mission.

Soon enough, it was dark and we were getting ready for the mission. We were counting down the time for us to jump. One by one, each of us slid down the rope and landed safely on the ground. Once we know it's clear, we start walking up the mountain, the mission beginning.

Throughout the whole night, we kept tabs on where we were and communicating with the base. My feet were starting to hurt after the sun had risen. By the time it was noon, my throat was so dry, it began to hurt and the weight on my back was starting to affect my walking. The whole time, we never talked to each other and only focused on the main task at hand but for the first time in hours, I spoke up. "My God, just kill me! I'm dyin' here."

"You givin' us permission to shoot you?" Danny asks, almost excitedly.

"Sure, why not? Load your gun, aim, and shoot me right in the head. That way, you won't need to have me draggin' us behind with my lazy ass." I say sarcastically.

"Shut up, Chris. We're all tired. Just keep movin' or I'll _let_ Danny shoot you." Mike orders.

"Fine. But if anyone is to shoot me, at least let it be Marcus or Axe so then I'll die by gettin' sniped. Quick and painless. That's my ideal way of dyin'."

"Really? You actually thought about your way of dying?" Marcus questions.

"Yeah, haven't you guys? We _are_ in the Navy SEALS, I think we all thought about it at least once. You can't deny it and if you do, then you're lying."

"Alright, then I won't deny it."

I chuckle as I see Axe stop ahead of us. The rest of us were pretty far behind and I saw Axe was in between a clearing of trees, where he could see whatever there was beyond the mountain we were on. "Hey, Axe! What do you see up there?"

"Nature." Was the only response I got.

I rolled my eyes and just as I was about to make a smart remark, Danny beat me to it. "No shit, asshole!"

We stand next to him and I see there is basically nothing but trees and more mountains. I don't spot any kind of camp or village anywhere near us or in any sight. The five of us slowly and carefully descend down the mountain, careful not to make any bad moves by slipping or yelling so there could be an echo.

We go into our positions, separating except I'm with Markus and Mike. I hear Axe doing a radio check through our radio, making sure we are clear. Mike is looking through the binoculars and hands them to Marcus, whispering, "Take a peek."

After a second, Marcus hands them to me, cursing under his breath. "Shit. Can't see half the village."

I look through the binoculars and see there is a village up ahead, at the bottom of the mountain but the trees were covering most of it. "God damn it."

I hand them back to Mike and he looks through them for a moment before putting them down and sighing. Marcus gives him a look, almost taking off his sunglasses. "Find a new spot?"

"Let's try to make that peak." He points over our shoulders and when I turn, I see another mountain, bigger than the one we were already on. "See if that's not better."

"Sounds good." Marcus agrees.

"Yeah, if you wanna die by climbing up Mount Everest. That's what it feels like right now, climbing a hundred miles up." I retort.

"Hey, Chris?" I turn my attention to Mike, wanting to glare at my leader. "Looks like you're getting in that fifty miles you said you didn't want to run."

"Wow, you're funny. That was so good, I almost forgot to laugh."

The boys chuckle as we all group back up and start walking again. We went up the mountain and after another few hours, we got to the top. We got to our position and started to disperse from each other, listening to Mike from our radio. "Marcus, on me. Danny, take our six. Inform command of our new position. Axe, eyes on. Chris, look around the village, see if anyone has weapons and make sure nobody is near us on the mountain."

I look around the village and see a large group of men carrying gun, some of them have knives too. I drop my binoculars and grab my radio to contact Mike. "Shit. Murph, it's like an army down there. They all got guns and knives. It looks like they got ready for us, man."

"I know, we see 'em. Make sure nobody is near us, got it?"

"Copy that."

Just as I was about to take my binoculars out again and search, I heard Mike on the radio again. "Axe, you're on surveillance. Dietz, fall back to OP 2 and get me some fucking comms. Collins, stay on watch, you see anything suspicious, contact us and start heading down to see what it is."

I sigh, leaning against a tree. I look around the mountain and see nothing. All I see is trees and rocks. Everyone in the village is staying in the village. I didn't see anyone outside except the men who had the weapons. Maybe the civilians were scared of them or they were all threatened. I wondered about them when I heard Axe through the radio. "Mikey, I'm good here. I'm going to break down OP 1."

"Copy that. Listen up, if you can, move to high ground and make comms. Marcus, Axe, shut her down. Dietz, you got security. Rest up, gents…and Chris."

I smile as I close my eyes and slouch, finally being able to relax. My peace was interrupted by a noise on the radio. It took me a minute to realize what it was and by that time, I heard Axe on the radio. "Can you get off the radio while you're chewing? You're making me nauseous."

I rolled my eyes at Danny as I heard him. "How did you know it was me? It could've been Chris for all you know."

"Chris isn't as obnoxious and stupid as you, Dietz. It's just a fact, don't cry over it. Also, I didn't specifically say your name, I was just telling whoever was chewing to get off the radio and you're the one who answered, which was a dead giveaway."

"Dude, what the fuck are you even eating?" I ask.

"Chocolate."

"You wanna come over to my station and give me some?"

"No, it's mine, get your own!"

"I don't have any chocolate, dumbass. And in case you didn't notice, we're on a mission so I can't get up, go to the base, and get chocolate." I snap.

"What do you want me do?"

I groan, throwing my head back. "Just save me some, will ya?"

"Fine."

"Thank you!"

I get back into a comfortable position and close my eyes again. I take a deep breath and let it out, relaxing and feeling at peace for once after what felt like days but was actually only hours. I stayed like that for hours, just sitting there and resting, none of us talking or making noises on the radio. I was actually almost asleep when I heard something. Goats.


	3. Trouble

**Trouble**

I sat up and looked around. I nearly yelled when I saw a goat standing next to me but I kept my mouth shut and slowly got up. I stood up and carefully walked backwards, making sure I didn't trip or make any noises. Soon enough, I heard voices following the goats. I looked and saw Sheppard's coming our way.

There were three of them. Two young boys and an old man. One of the older boys was talking and walking backwards at the same time but jumped when he stepped on one of the boys. I looked and saw Marcus holding his foot and as the boy started running, Axe tackled him to the ground. We all ran out of our hiding spots, showing our positions.

I tied the old man to a tree as Marcus tied up the youngest boy. He looked up at me and explained, "Stepped right the fuck on me!"

"I know, I saw."

Danny was trying to contact someone on the radio as we tied the three people to trees. I banged my head against a tree nearby, cussing under my breath. Of all people, this had to happen to us. It turned out, Danny's radio wasn't working and Mike was getting more pissed by the second.

"So now I'm going to be that guy calling on an unsecure sat line because your shit ain't functioning."

"Talk to the mountain, sir." Danny responds.

Mike got a connection to base and waited to talk to Kristensen. He was trying to get our situation across but before we knew it, the line was dropped. He started to try to dial the number again but it wouldn't work. The signal out here in the mountain sucked.

"Well, we could light the goats on fire, smoke signal our way outta here." Marcus suggests.

"Yeah, I could walk down to the village, ask to borrow a plane." Danny adds.

"You'd get some interesting tile ideas down there, bro. Afghan Dirt Brown, Goat Skin Blond. Shit, she'll dig that a hell of a lot more than, what is it, fuckin' Honey Cream?"

"Not the time to joke around, guys!" I warn.

At that moment, the older boy get up and starts to run but Axe throws him on the ground once more and up against a tree, closer to the group. I looked towards Mike and wondered what he had for ideas as leader. "Way I see it, we got three options. One, we let them go, hike up. We'll probably be found in less than an hour. Two, we tie 'em up, hike out, roll the dice. They'll probably be eaten by fucking wolves, or freeze to death."

"Three?" Danny asks.

"We terminate the compromise."

It was silent between the five of us, thinking of the options and what would be best. Axe was the first to speak his mind. "Shah's down there. We let them go, we're lettin' him go. Mission fails."

"No, Mikey." Marcus objects. "I don't like it. I don't fucking like it at all. What are we gonna do? We gonna kill them? Huh? Ok, we kill them, right? What, then what? Fuckin' bury 'em? They get found, then what?"

"Then what?" Axe repeats.

"What do you mean, then what?" Marcus challenges.

"And then what?"

"What do you think? This shit's gonna be private? Huh? It's gonna be out there for the whole fuckin' world. CNN, ok? _SEALS kill kids_. That's the fucking story forever."

"It's nobody's fuckin' business what we do up here. We do what we do. What we have to do." Danny jumps in, looking at Mike. "This is the fuckin' Navy and you're the fuckin' boss, so you make the fuckin' call, sir."

"Guy's calm down." I try to stop. "We need to stay calm right now and try to make the most reasonable choice, here."

"Hey, you know what? You have no say in this, Crystal! This is all your fuckin' fault, anyway!" Marcus yells.

"My fault? How is it my fault that three Tali's wandered up here with their goats?!"

"You were supposed to be on the fuckin' look out! It's your fault because you didn't do your fuckin' job! If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't be in this situation right now!"

"I'm sorry but we were all exhausted! It seemed like everything was fine and I never saw anyone near the mountain! I thought we were clear!"

"Yeah, well, clearly, you thought wrong!"

I close my eyes and take a deep breath, clenching my fists and see the guys watching me, waiting for my next move. "What do you want me to do, Marcus? Shoot myself as fuckin' punishment?"

"You know, that's a wonderful idea! That would solve a hell of a lot of problems that we have right now!"

I stare at him hard as he glares at me. The training we went through to be in the Navy taught us how to be tough and be strong when we were shot but they taught us nothing about how to stay strong when you lose a friend or when you and a friend fight. At this moment, I almost regret joining the Navy with my best friend.

"Alright, that's enough, you two! Let's focus on the task at hand here." Mike interrupts.

Tears well up in my eyes as I look away, taking a shaky breath. I nod my head a little and took a few steps back. I felt someone gently grab my shoulder and turn me towards them. Danny looks at me with a sympathetic yet caring look. I shake my head at him, silently telling him I didn't want to talk and I didn't trust my voice. I knew that if I talked barely above a whisper, I would break.

Thankfully, Axe stepped in and continued with the main situation we had. "Shah killed twenty Marines last week. Twenty. We let him go, twenty more will die next week. Forty more the week after that. Our job is to stop Shah. Why do these men have the right to dictate how we do our job?"

"Rules of Engagement says we cannot touch them." Marcus quietly says.

"I understand. And I don't care. I care about you. I care about you. I care about you. I care about you." Axe says, motioning to all of us. "I don't want your mom seeing your head, your decapitated head on Al Jazeera. That is Shah."

"I don't see it that way." Marcus damn near whispers.

"Where do you think he's running to? Two hundred friends down there."

"Got guys in Leavenworth doing twenty for taking home trophy guns. What do you think they're gonna do with two fucking kids and an old fucking man?"

"Fucking look at them, man. They fuckin' hate us." Danny adds.

"Look at him." Axe gestures to one of the kids. "That's not a kid, that's a soldier. That's death. Look at death."

"We can't do it. Look at the soldier. They are unarmed prisoners." Marcus objects.

"And the second they run down there, we got two hundred Haji's on our backs."

"Tie 'em up. Tie 'em up. Let's get the fuck outta here."

"We can't just fuckin' leave 'em, let 'em go!" Danny shouts.

"I thought you were standing by waiting for your fuckin' orders." Marcus points out.

"I am standing by waiting for my fuckin' orders." Danny argues. "Chris, what do you think?"

"Does it really matter what I think?"

He looks at me with a sharp eye, almost glaring at me. "Yes! You're still on this fuckin' team whether you like it or not, whether Marcus likes it or not! You're still on the team and we stick together! I'm not letting you take yourself out just because of some fuckin' things that were said, got it? Now, Crystal, what do you think?"

I almost smiled at the protection and care in his eyes. I knew he was looking out for me and what he said was true. "We can't let 'em go 'cause then we'll be tracked and followed. I don't wanna die up here but I don't wanna kill them. Lives are still lives. Just tie 'em up; let them die on their own. That way, we aren't responsible for them and we don't get tracked."

"What do you think that radio's for?" Axe snapped. "They're not calling Domino's pizza!"

"I know what the fuckin' radios for!" Marcus rolls his eyes.

"That radio's fuckin' Tali." Danny informs.

"It's a cell phone to the Taliban." Axe points down to the village.

"So you just think it'll be our little secret? Huh?" Marcus questions.

It was then I realized, Mike hasn't said one word throughout this whole argument. It looked like he was thinking about the options and the best choice. Axe shook his head, getting more irritated. "That's a warrior. Schwack 'em."

"We can't do that." I say softly.

"This is a soft compromise."

"You want to go to Leavenworth?" Marcus questions.

"We don't know how many fuckin' Haji's they have down there, man!" Danny argues.

"Don't let him influence you."

"Marcus, I'm just saying, you can't just say—"

"Look at that child." Axe cuts Danny off.

"Make up your fuckin' mind and don't let him influence you." Marcus orders Danny.

"Schwack 'em." Axe repeats.

"Mikey, it's your fuckin' call. I ain't fuckin' voting." Danny shouts.

"This is not a vote." Mike announces, stepping up and making everyone go silent. "This is what we're gonna do. This op is compromised. So we're gonna pack up everything. We're gonna cut them loose and we're gonna make this peak. When we make this peak, you're gonna get comms up. When we get these comms up, we're gonna call for extract and we're going home."

We all nodded our heads, letting him know we knew what we were doing. We cut their ties and helped them up. It seemed they were all confused but once they saw us letting them go, they slowly started to walk away. We watched them descend down the mountain and once they were out of sight, we began climbing up.

It was silent the entire time we walked up the mountain, nobody talking, nobody making any kind of noise. Before I knew it, we were already almost to the top, thankfully. My feet felt like they were about to collapse from under me but I kept going, just like I was trained to do. Once we finally reach the top, I dropped to my knees, near Marcus as he swore. "Fuck! This is a false summit."

I look around and see he was right. I suppressed a yell and instead I groaned and face planted in the dirt, lying down and resting for a moment. I heard Danny trying to contact base, raising the satellite around, trying to get a good connection.

"So, what do you wanna do?" Marcus asks.

"Go home, get in bed, watch Anchorman." Mike answers.

"Yeah, roger that. What do you think?"

"I think we did the right thing. I think we let our love light shine. I mean, isn't that how things work? Good things happen to good people?"

"This is a bad spot." Axe comments under his breath, looking through his telescope.

"Danny, I got nothing here on sat. Give me something." Mike orders.

"I got fucking shit."

Mike stands up and turns to all of us. "Let's fall back to that tree line. Wait 'till sundown. If we can't make comms, we're walking home anyways, guys. Let's get some rest. Pack up, let's move."

We made it to the tree line and we set up camp on a pile of rocks and trees, disguising ourselves, keeping a lookout. I stared out in the woods, through the trees, wondering if there was anything out there. I couldn't help but wonder if Marcus was right.

Would we be in this position right now if I was paying attention and saw the three merchants coming up the mountain? Is this entire thing really my fault? Did he mean everything he said? Would it solve a lot of problems if I were to die? Many other thoughts ran through my mind, making me confused and curious.

"I'm going to do some recon. Be back in two minutes."

I jump and point my gun at the person behind me, getting ready to shoot. I'm met with a pair of shocked eyes of Mike, him staring at me and the gun. I breathe a sigh in relief and put my gun down, shaking my head to clear it. Mike gently puts a hand on my shoulders and barely whispers, "Are you alright?"

"Fine."

"Are you sure? You can take a break off watch for a while and get some rest."

"No! I can't rest, I need to stay on watch."

"Crystal, if this has anything to do with what Marcus said—"

"I'll be fine." I cut him off, looking back to the region where I'm supposed to watch. "Go. Do whatever you have to do."

He looks reluctant and does as told but very hesitantly. I go back to searching the woods and out of nowhere, I heard a twig snap. I didn't know if it was Mike or not but I got ready. I raised my gun and looked through the telescope, trying to find the source of the noise.

For a mere second, I thought I saw something black go behind a tree but I wasn't sure. I kept my eye on that tree for a few moments but I didn't see anything. It must've been my imagination but I was still on alert. I look to my right and saw both Axe and Marcus had their guns drawn and were searching around, same as me. Maybe I wasn't imagining.


	4. Guns

**Guns**

I was about to jump but contained myself when I heard someone appear right next to me. I barely moved my head and out of the corner of my eye, I saw it was Mike. He leaned down and whispered in my ear, "We're about to get contacted."

"Shit." I moved up and behind a tree, making sure I was covered. I put myself against a tree but between two large rocks.

I peer over the rocks and raise my gun once more. I look around until I spot something. I look and see someone standing behind a tree, raising their own gun and aiming. I didn't know who it was aimed at but I knew it was aimed at one of my boys. I cocked my gun and made sure I got a good aim. The second I was sure of it and the man came out just a little further away from the tree, I fired. The bullet shot him in the head, making him drop instantly to the ground.

I was breathing so lightly, I couldn't even hear myself breathe. I heard two other snipe shots in the distance, not far from me. I quickly look and see Marcus shot another man down. It was silent for a moment in the woods when out of nowhere, a loud gun sounded, bullets flying.

I got up from my hiding spot and pushed forward, making sure I kept myself hidden. I heard more bullets being shot and some yells from men who were shot. Thankfully, I didn't hear any of the yells coming from my own men. I drop to the ground and crawl behind a stump, getting good aim. I look and see someone running towards me. I aim for the chest and shoot, and then the man drops dead.

"Moving!" Mike orders all of us.

I get up again and go behind a large boulder as the guys go behind trees, branches, or other rocks. I take a deep breath before coming over the rock and shooting any man I can out there, making sure they're dead. I see the guys going forward and I follow them. I have my gun ready as they do also and push forward.

I see someone coming toward us out of the corner of my eye and I quickly turn to shoot. The second I shoot at them, they shoot at me. Suddenly, I felt a searing pain in my face and I dropped to my knees, letting out a yell, clutching the side of my face. "Chris!"

I was about to get up when a pair of arms pull me up and make me look at the person. Mike looks at me with concern and when we hear another bullet fly past us, he pushes me back to the ground. "Are you alright?!"

"Fine! Just got a graze!"

He nods and gets back up, helping me to my feet. I wipe my cheek and see a bunch of blood on my sleeve. I growl and try to ignore it, going back to the fight. I hear some yelling and saw a man on top of Marcus, trying to reach his gun. I grab my gun, aim and try to not hit my teammate. They both kept moving so much and I didn't want to hit Marcus. The second I got a clear shot, I fired, hitting the man in the head.

Marcus pushed him off and quickly turned around to find the source of who saved him. He spotted me lowering my gun down and he gave me a slight nod in thanks. I do the same and turn around to find Danny shot in the hand. I quickly make my way over to him and grab an extra cloth out of my pocket. I take his hand in mine and wrap it around; making sure it was tight and would lessen the bleeding.

I run back over to the others and see Axe, Mike, and Marcus in a small group behind a large rock. I join them and try to catch my breath for a moment. Marcus looks over at me and his eyes widen. "What the fuck happened to you?!"

"It's just a graze, don't freak out."

Marcus faces forward and peeks over the edge of the rock. "Mikey. Left is good. I say again, left is good." The very second he finishes talking, a machine guns come out from the left side. We all take cover and slide further behind the rock, not taking any chances. "Mikey! Left is not good! I say again, left is not good!"

"Roger that! Push right!"

I look to the right while we are still taking cover and see nobody on the right side. I turn back to my team and call out, "We're good right!"

Mike goes on the radio and tell the others, "We are good right. Push right. Push right. Push right."

Mike stands up but out of nowhere, a gunshot goes off and hits him in the side. Marcus quickly pulls him down next to him, taking cover. After that, I hear Mike on the radio. "Right is no good. Right is no good."

I start running through the woods, dodging trees and jumping over rocks. A sudden impact smashes into me, throwing me on the ground. I look up and see a man on top of me, raising a knife. I quickly grab his arm and try to restrain it from coming down on me and killing me. The man got his second wind and brought the knife down, hard and deep into my shoulder.

I let out a loud, long yell, unable to contain it. I punch the man in the face, making him bleed. He yanked the knife out of my shoulder and was about to stab me again but I grip his arm and try to stop it from doing me any more harm. I heard two or three gunshots near me and the man stopped fighting me, his eyes wide.

He dropped on top of me and I pushed his body off me. I grip my shoulder and felt the blood seeping through my hand, the pain growing. Footsteps ran my way and when I looked up, I saw Marcus crouching next to me, looking at my shoulder as Axe helped me sit up. I grunted as I held my shoulder, the pain officially burning.

Marcus gently removed my hand from the wound and quickly put dirt on it to lessen the bleeding. He ripped off part of a piece of cloth he had in his pocket and put it on my shoulder, tying it around my arm. I winced as he made it tight, securing it. I kept hearing more bullets flying all around, the gunshots ringing in my ears.

"Marcus, on me!" we hear Mike yell from a distance.

Before he moved, Marcus grabbed both sides of my face and forced me to look at him. "You're gonna be fine. We're gonna get outta this and you're gonna be just fine. Got it? Axe, take care of her!"

Once he got up and left, Axe helped me to my feet, supporting me as we went to take cover. Bombs kept hitting everywhere near us, making dirt explode all over us, throwing us around in the air. Soon enough, we heard Mike yell, "Axe! Axe, Chris, on me!"

He pulls me close to him as we make it next to the group. I see we're at the very edge of a cliff. My eyes widen as I realize what we're about to do. Another bomb hits right behind us and we all jump, getting prepared for the impact. The second I hit the ground, my knees give out and collapse, my body flying down the hill. I keep rolling, dirt flying everywhere, my shoulder flaming with pain whenever I roll on it.

Soon, I'm in the air again and I fall back down on rocks, my body aching. I can't see anything, my world still spinning. I bang into a tree and I hope to stop but my body swings itself around the tree and keeps going. Somehow, I can barely hear the noises of the guys still going down, somewhere near me. My face smashes into a rock and I felt blood splat all over as I kept going.

I didn't feel rock anymore but I kept hitting trees and dirt, sometimes smacking into stumps and flying from them. I smash into branches as I keep rolling, wanting to stop but my wish doesn't get answered. I didn't care how I was stopped, as long as the pain was gone. I roll down another small cliff and go down hard on a rock, crushing my wounded shoulder. I let out a loud scream as I keep going.

What felt like hours later, my body slams itself into a rock, a sudden stop. I stayed still, not wanting to move and cause more pain to myself. My head was still spinning and my body ached now more than ever. I've been through a lot of shit in my life but so far, this experience is by far, number one. I whimper as I raise my head and open my eyes to see the boys not too far away from me but not the closest, either.

I saw they were all gathering behind a large rock and tree so I used all my strength to push myself up and get to my feet. I slowly made my way towards them and when I was about halfway, I felt someone come up behind me and quickly but gently helped me to my feet. Danny gave me support as we climbed up towards the other two.

I was at the edge of the rock when Marcus moved from his place and grabbed my hand, pulling me up and close to him. The same moment Danny and I joined the group, Axe did too. "That sucked."

"I couldn't agree more, bud." I moan.

"They fuck….they fucking shot me." Danny announces.

"Livin' in the past, Danny." Mike says.

"We're all shot, bro. Can you fight?" Marcus asks.

"Messed up my drawing hand, that pisses me off."

"Chris, you alright?"

I lazily look over at Marcus and saw he was truly concerned. I looked around for a moment and saw they were all looking at me. I smiled and started to softly chuckle. "Those fuckin' assholes gotta throw a lot more than that to get rid of me. I still got some fight left in me, give me all you got."

They all smiled my way, happy with my answer. "We just gotta get to flat ground, then we can take these motherfuckers, that's it." Marcus encourages.

Before any of us could make another move, I hear a couple more bullets passing us but Danny got hit in the foot. We all peek over the rock and start shooting, trying our best to stay covered. I heard Danny cuss as he got shot again but this time, in the shoulder.

"Danny, you alright?" I yell.

"Yeah, I'm fine!"

I turn back to fight and just as I was reloading, a bullet went past my face and missed but it still hit me. Grazed my neck, blood immediately slipping down my neck, an intense feeling going out through my body. I hiss in pain but keep fighting, not turning away from the damn fight, no matter what. I went to crouch down and reload again when I heard all the boys yelling, "Peel left!"

We run from the rock and in the trees, taking cover by the woods. We make our own trail, all five of us struggling to keep ourselves up and not collapse or fall behind. I'm right behind Marcus and Mike is right behind me. I keep going, pushing myself as I feel myself loose more blood from my wounds and making me weaker. My foot got caught in a tree root and I slip and bang my head on the ground before I scramble to my feet. I hear buzzing in my ears as I still hear gunshots in the distance behind us but coming closer. Danny falls and can't get back up but I see Marcus grab his should strap and drag him the rest of the way.

To make sure they were safe, I fall back a bit and push Axe and Mike further ahead of me, telling them to go faster. I wasn't gonna let them get hit, not if I could somehow stop it. They both start running but I couldn't, the pain in my body restraining me. They kept getting further and further ahead until I lost them completely, both of them gone through the trees. I stopped for a moment, trying to see if I could hear their footsteps or their voices but I got nothing. All I could hear was my own heavy breathing and the buzzing in my eyes, the pain in my head making it harder to concentrate.

I push myself more, grunting every now and then, going forward. Before I knew it, I came upon a clearing. It looked like another hill we just came from but a little less rocks, more boulders, and more dirt. For a moment, I thought I heard one of the guy's voices so I nearly killed myself by putting one foot in front of the other and started running. I wasn't looking where I was going; all I knew was that I had to find my boys.

I don't know how long I was going for but soon enough, I ran off a little rock ledge and since I wasn't expecting it, I didn't jump. Instead, I fell straight down and I prepared myself for another rolling adventure except I didn't hit dirt or rocks. I landed on someone, making that person and a few others yell in surprise.

I quickly look up to see the person I landed on and was shocked to find Mike. The four of them were just as shocked but Mike grabbed me by my shoulder strap and yanked me up next to him, against the rock wall. "Chris, you alright? Jesus, we thought we lost you!"

"Don't worry about me." I saw in a low voice.

Marcus leans forward and looks past both Danny and Mike to look me in the eyes. "Telling any of us not to worry about you is like telling you not to fight."

I couldn't help but almost smile at the comment. If anyone would tell me I can't fight, I'd probably kill them. It's good to know he still cares even after everything that's been said and done in the past few hours. I realized we were all out of breath and trying to regain our strength in the small moment we got.

"Hey." I hear Marcus but nobody turns to him. "Hey." I look over at him and so does Danny and Mike. "This is bad, here. This is a fucking problem." He then turns to the most wounded of the five of us. "You're ok, right?"

"Shot me up pretty good, bro." Danny stated.

Marcus started to put some dirt on his leg wound and I saw Danny trying to suppress a yell, a tear slipping down his cheek. Ignoring my own pain and torture, I crawled over Mike and sat next to Danny, keeping a hold on his hand, giving him comfort. He squeezed my hand with nearly all his strength, making it almost hurt but comforting to know he was still there with me.

Once Marcus was done and moved to Mike, I looked at Danny and couldn't help but launch myself at him, hugging him tight. He immediately wraps his arms around my body, pulling me close to him. I ball my hands into fists, clutching his uniform in my hands. This experience has been the worst one we've ever encountered and none of us knew what to do. We didn't know what would happen.

I lean my head on Danny's shoulder and whisper, "I'm scared."

He tightens his grip on me, rocking me ever so slightly. "I know. I know, Crystal. Me too."

"Chris, come here." Marcus orders.

I hesitantly let go of Danny and face Marcus. He carefully grabs my neck and looks at the wound, wiping some blood from it and making me wince. He grabs a handful of dirt and shoves it in the wound, making the bleeding stop a little. The sting intensifies as I crank my neck backwards, trying to not make a noise. Someone puts their hand over my mouth and lets me yell as loud as I wanted and thankfully, it came out muffled.

"Mikey, how'd they get us so fast?" Danny asks, real loudly.

"SSHH! Shut the fuck up!" Marcus quickly hisses, turning to the most wounded of us.

"I just don't understand how fucking fast they were, man. Oh, fuck. I just…fucking faster than we are?"

"They're not faster than us." Axe whispers, not too reassuringly.

"I was fucking talkin' to my mom. She didn't fuckin' say nothing about…she didn't fuckin' say nothing!" Danny looks at his hand that was wrapped in a now blood red cloth. "Oh, fuck, such vivid reds. Oh!"

"We gotta move, Mikey." Marcus informs and the second the words leave his mouth, gunshots start firing our way once again.

Mike gets up and runs somewhere behind us but I hear his voice yell, "Axe, smoke! Smoke up! Smoke 'em!"

Axe throws a smoke container and we run to join Mike and I see we are at the edge of another ledge, but I didn't see any kind of dirt on this one. "We're not fuckin' doin' this again, are we?"

"Damn right we are!"

Marcus throws Danny on his shoulders and we start to take turns jumping. Mike jumps first, Axe follows, then me, and then Marcus and Danny. I don't even try to stand or stop myself from rolling down, I knew it was pointless. The second I land on the rock, I go tumbling down, the rock smashing my shoulder and my entire body.

I keep rolling but thankfully, it didn't last as long as the last time. All I did was roll down the rocks and every once in a while, get thrown in the air. I went down a small hill of rocks and the small of my back smashed into another rock, making me yell out in pain. My world was spinning, seeing nothing but blurs of green and grey and sometimes blue. Just as soon as the rolling started, it stopped and I landed at the bottom, against a tree.


	5. Loss

**Loss**

I lay on my back, trying to catch my breath and remain still. I held my stomach as I coughed up blood, nearly throwing up. My ears started buzzing again but I faintly heard Mike say, "RPG."

Before I could register what he was talking about, an explosion hit close to us, dirt flying everywhere. We all take cover in different spots but we were all still close together. My eyesight started to go in and out, things becoming fuzzy and blurry one moment and then the next, they're clear. I crouched down in a ball behind the rock, not taking the chances of getting hit.

"Where's Danny?" I hear Axe ask, his voice sounding like it was underwater to me.

I look around and only see there were four of us. Axe, Mike, Marcus, and me. No Danny. I frantically looked around, even standing up, trying to find my brother. I turn to Marcus, who was with him last and yelled, "Where is he?!"

"He's up top."

"What? He can't be, he came down with you!"

"He's up top. He got…he got hit. In the head."

I shake my head, not wanting to believe it as I still stand but Mike quickly pushes me down next to him and Marcus. I turn to the boys and try to convince, "We gotta get 'em! We have to! We gotta get 'em! Now!"

Mike grabs both side of my face and makes me look at him, him looking sternly in my eyes. "We are, alright?! He's gonna be fine and so are we! Calm down and we're gonna get him, got it?"

I nod my head, believing him with everything I got. "We get up there, we get him, get him down the hill, and then we take 'em on flat ground. We can take these bastards on flat ground."

Axe tried to come up to where we were but it looked like his legs were failing him so I jumped up and went to his side, supporting half his body weight and helping him up. Mike and Marcus grab his arms and pull him up, then they do the same to me. Another explosive almost hits us and we all flinch, trying to cover ourselves better.

"We're gonna go get Danny up top and then we're gonna come back down and fight on flat ground, we're gonna kill 'em all." Mike orders. "Marcus, you good?"

"I'm good!"

"Axe, you're security, Chris, you come with and try to cover us. Let's go!"

Axe hid behind the rock and started shooting the men at the top as we came out and started running, going forward. I saw a bullet almost hit us and I quickly stop, finding the shooter and killing him. I go back to catching up to the guys but I saw they stopped and hid behind a large boulder.

I ran towards them and crouched down just like them. "You guys good?! None of ya are hit?!"

"No, we're good!"

"I don't think we can get up from here." Marcus claims. "We ain't out-fuckin'-flankin' 'em, Mikey! We gotta find another way!"

"I'm going to make the call to QRF." Mike announces.

I quickly turn to him, knowing what he meant. He looked in my eyes sadly and gave me half a smile. Tears well up in my eyes as I shake my head, not being able to handle it. Marcus didn't understand and objected, "You ain't making no fuckin' comms with that sat phone, Mikey."

"Look at me." We both look at our leader, wondering what he would say "I'll make the call."

He gestured the highest and clearest point closest to us. Marcus' eyes became wide as he finally understood. "No, no Mikey. No. Fuck that!" Next thing I know, Mike throws a mag in my lap and shoves one in Marcus' face. "No. No. Fuck that, Mikey!"

"Take it. You fuckin' take it."

"I'm sorry, Mike."

"For what?"

"That we haven't killed more of these fuckers." Marcus growls as he keeps shooting.

"Oh, don't be fuckin' sorry. We gonna fuckin' kill way more of 'em."

I took a deep breath before saying, "Give that damn thing to me. I'll make the fuckin' call."

"No."

"Yes! Damn it, Mike! You have a fiancé at home, waiting for you! What do I have at home? Nothing! I've got nothing there, all I have is you boys. We just lost Danny, I can't lose another brother! Do you understand? You have a future, waiting for you. Not me! You have something to live for, Mike."

He looked at me with admiring eyes, just watching me. "Chris, I have never met anyone braver than you. You're stronger than any person I've ever known. You have a life ahead of you…you just don't know it, yet. You won't lose us. I'm gonna be watching you, you can count on that. And so will Danny. We're gonna be watching out for you, whether you know it or not. Just stay strong, alright? You're not gonna die…not here."

"You don't know that." I whisper.

"I do know that. Danny and I, we're gonna take care of you and make sure you get out of this alive, as well as Axe and Marcus. I _promise_ you, you're gonna get outta this. Besides, we have to look out for our little sister."

I look at him with wide eyes. I've always called them my brothers but they've never called me their sister. A few tears slipped from my eyes and I unwillingly let them fall down my dirt covered, rosy cheeks. Mike leaned over and wiped them away before pulling me into a gentle hug. "We're gonna be takin' care of you. I'm proud of you. Remember that, Crystal."

I nod my head as he pulls away. He was just about ready to run but he called out, "Marcus!" he turns around to face our leader, not wanting to say goodbye. "Never out of the fight."

I look up at my leader and my brother with deep respect and admiration. He gives both Marcus and I a nod, in respect or goodbye or both, I'll never know. He raises his gun and I know that means we have to go back to business. Marcus and I peek over the edge of the rock and start shooting, giving Mike some cover as he makes his way to the tree line.

I faintly heard Axe yell, "What's he doin', guys?!"

"Murphy's movin'! Murphy's movin!"

"Where is he going?!"

We keep shooting, trying not to let any bastards hit our leader, our best friend, and our brother. An explosive hits right behind us, making me flinch and Marcus throws his arm around my body, pulling me closer. I kept shooting at anyone I could, making them drop dead.

Every few seconds, I would take a quick glance towards Mike, seeing if he was doing ok and if he needed help. I didn't want to look at him one moment then find him dead the next, I wanted to try to keep him alive for as long as possible. It wasn't because I wanted him to make that call, it was because he was my brother and I wasn't going to let him die that easily.

I saw an explosive almost hit him and I ended up standing up and shooting. Every time I hit the trigger and shot someone, I couldn't help but let out a yell. At this moment, I was thriving to kill them. I _needed_ to kill those bastards. They killed my brother Danny Dietz and soon, they will kill one of my other brothers, Mike Murphy.

I look up again and see Mike at the top of the hill, making the call. I smile but it dropped the second I saw some men trying to climb the rocks, up to Mike. I took aim and started shooting, listening to bullets being shot and explosives smashing into the ground near us. Marcus was yelling at me to get down before I get shot but everything seemed to be in slow motion for me.

Everything was fuzzy and all sounds sounded distant, like they were miles away. I looked back at my leader and my eyes widen as I scream out his name, pleading for it not to be true. A few men were behind him, shooting him in the back. Mike drops to his knees and it looks like he stares out in the distance, in the sunset before slumping down, not moving.

Tears spring back in my eyes as I try to stay strong and the sting in my eyes become pain. A hand grabbed my arm and pulled me down next to the person as I kept staring at the place where my best friend lay at the top of the hill. My arm kept getting tugged but I didn't move, not wanting to go on. It seemed wherever I went, someone would die in front of me and I couldn't take it if I lost one more.

"Chris, come on! We gotta move! Get back to Axe!" Marcus' faded voice met my ears.

I slowly turn to him, still not moving my feet. "He's dead! Mike's dead, Marcus! He's gone!"

It looked like he got this sour taste in his mouth with the face he made, looking in my eyes. "I know. I know, Crystal. But he's away from this place! So is Danny. Remember what Mikey said? 'Stay strong'. Honor him and do as he says. Make his last wish of you become possible."

I nod my head, realizing he was right. We start climbing down to Axe, everything silent. There were no gunshots, no bullets flying, no explosions, nothing. The air was thick with death as everywhere you looked, there was someone dead. I swallowed a lump in my throat, not knowing how much more I could handle. _Stay strong, alright?_ The words echoed in my mind as if it was on repeat. _I'm proud of you._ Everything Mike Murphy told me that moment will always stay with me, no matter what happens and no matter what situation.

Marcus and I drop down next to Axe and try to catch our breath. All three of us sit there for a moment, trying to take it all in. "Where's Mike?" Axe questions after a minute. We don't answer him and he turns to us, asking again. "Where's Murph?"

"Up top." I cringe at the words, knowing that was exactly what Marcus said about Danny.

"Where up top?"

"He's gettin' the QRF."

It was silent again and I saw Axe look around, trying to see if he could find out leader. "Where exactly is Mike?"

"If I knew exactly where the fuck he was, I would tell you, brother!" Marcus snaps, looking him in the eye. "Is he squared away?"

Axe looks down and I saw one spot on his head was covered with blood. I nudge Marcus and point at it. "Oh fuck! Here, come here. Let me see you."

I look at it before pulling another extra cloth out and putting it on his head. He replaces his hand with mine and looks at us. "Did they really shoot me in the fucking head?"

"Yeah, buddy."

It was silent between the three of us, our breathing becoming quiet. I leaned my head against the rock behind me and close my eyes, letting the tears slowly fall. After a while, Axe quietly inquired, "Are Mike and Danny really dead?"

"Yeah." I barely make out.

"Are we dead?"

"Negative." Marcus chokes.

"We're good, right?"

"Fuck, yeah. We're solid."

It was silent once more for a few seconds before Axe speaks again. "If I die, I need you two to make sure that Cindy knows how much I love her."

"She knows." Marcus quietly says.

But Axe didn't stop, he kept talking. "And that I died with my brothers with a full fucking heart."

I look at my teammate and he's looking back at me with a smile, as if he was happy to think about leaving this place. "You're not gonna die, Axe. We're not gonna—"

I was cut off by a bomb hitting right next to us, all three of us jumping behind a rock and huddling together. "We gotta spread out! Get yourself some real estate."

Before I could stop myself, we were separating from each other, going in different directions. It only lasted for a second but once it stopped and I looked around, I saw I was all alone and there was no sight of either boys. I look around and call out there names quietly but loudly, not risking to get shot. In the distance, I heard a chopper and when I looked up, there it was. Two of them.

I couldn't stop smiling, realizing we were being rescued and Mike accomplished his goal. _Danny and I,_ _we're gonna take care of you and make sure you get out of this alive. _Mike kept his promise. We were going home. I kept cheering, waving my arms and yelling for Axe and Marcus, knowing we were saved. I watched the chopper hover above ground but I saw a trail of smoke coming towards it.

I realized what it was the second it hit. An RPG. It hit the chopper and it exploded, killing one or our survivals. My eyes widen as I stare at it, no believing it. "No. Please, God, no!"

The chopper than starts to go down and ends up smashing into the mountain, destroying my hopes. I quickly turn my attention to the other chopper and saw it was turning back, leaving us. I damn near cried, yelling for it to come back. Everything I hoped for and thought of that moment was wrecked in the fraction of a second.

I started looking around once more, screaming and pleading for Marcus and Axe to answer me. Wherever I looked, I saw nothing except trees and rocks. The adrenalin was wearing off and I could finally feel the pain again in my neck, face, and shoulder, everywhere. I kept walking, falling down hills, tripping, and even trying to run in a certain direction.

I was trying to get down the mountain, away from the area where I lost my brothers. I don't know how long I was on my feet, going forward, if it was minutes or hours but eventually, I collapsed. I fell to my knees and laid down, not wanting to move. I didn't know if Axe or Marcus was alive, I didn't know if they were hurt, and I didn't know where they were. I felt like giving up and surrendering.

I kept my eyes closed and rested, listening to the wind rustling the trees, the birds singing, and gunshots so far in the distance, I could barely make them out. My whole body jerked when I heard footsteps coming my way, twigs and leaves crunching. I tensed up and lifted my head, only to find more Tali's. I sighed, and brought my head back down, waiting for them to kill me.


	6. Safety

**Safety**

The one in the front of the group carefully made his way towards me and crouched down. I looked at him and saw he was wearing a clean, white robe and he had a kind face, unlike the others. He had a child and a few others behind him. The man pointed to my uniform and questioned, "Americayee?"

I just nodded my head, still on the ground. "Yes, I am American."

The man then gently grabs my arms and helps me to my feet, confusing me. Another man comes to my other side and they throw my arms around their shoulders, and wrapping their arms around my waist. They started taking me down the mountain, being careful and gentle.

"Why are you helping me?" I ask, weakly. "You are helping me, right?" The man with white nods his head, looking straight. "Why are you helping me?"

"Americayee."

"I am American, yes, we've established that. Do you speak English?"

The man shakes his head but says, "Little."

"But you can understand it well?" He nods his head once more, looking confident.

I sigh in relief, thanking God he understands me and he's helping me. I knew I shouldn't trust him but he was my only hope to surviving and if he killed me, I wouldn't be bothered. We kept walking for a long time, I lost track of how long but we entered a small village and I realized it was the same village we were looking at, earlier today when it was the five of us.

"What's your name?" I ask, becoming more tired each second.

"Gulab." The man pointed to the young boy by him and said, "Turan. You?"

"Crystal." I whisper, my head leaning on my shoulder.

As we made our way through the village, I got many strange looks but I paid no attention to them whatsoever. We kept walking and they led me into this small house, setting me on a bed. I looked at Gulab and gestured for food and water. He understood immediately and said something to the other men, shooing them away.

Gulab crouched down and faced me. Tears welled up in my eyes as it hit me; I'm safe now. I'm finally safe for now. But I let the tears fall because I knew that none of the guys were feeling safe and they never would. You never know what feeling safe is until you're about to die but you're being saved by someone.

I leaned my head against the wall and let the tears fall freely. Gulab ordered something to Turan and after the child ran out the door, he turned back to me and wiped the tears away. I was confused but I wondered if that kid was his son and he didn't like anyone being in pain.

The same men from earlier came back but they brought a water bottle and a plate of food. I knew that if I got up, I would collapse again so I just waited until they handed it to me. I started eating it as fast as I could, desperate for the taste of food and the strength I would get back. I opened the water bottle and drank about half of it in one swig. I didn't realize Turan came back until I felt something cold against my neck.

I jumped and looked to find Gulab still in front of me and Turan behind him, with a bowl of water in his hand and a wet cloth in the other. I realized he was trying to get the blood off me. I hesitantly let him as I continued eating the food like a hungry animal. A small hand stopped me from eating and I saw the young boy there, smiling at me.

He said something in his language and made a slow gesture with his hand. He was trying to tell me to slow down. I smile gratefully at him and do what he says. A sudden burning sensation hit me like a brick in the face as I hissed in pain and gripped my neck, knowing he had touched the part where the bullet grazed me. Gulab looked sorry that he hurt me but I try to smile and shake my head, telling him I was fine.

Before I knew it, I had all the blood off me and they were handing me a fresh pair of pajamas. I took hold of them and thankfully, some girls in the village helped me in the clothes, guiding my arms and legs in the clothing because of my wounds. I had a patch or a cloth over almost every wound or scrape I had.

I was led back to the room I was in and I laid down in my bed, some women coming in at times and giving me food or water or giving me another blanket or even just sitting there next to me, not letting me be all alone. I was grateful for these people, if it wasn't for them, I'd be dead for sure. It was night by the time I had everything I needed but I could barely move.

Gulab came in and put a candle on the nightstand next to me bed. Just as he was about to leave, I called out to him. I gestured towards my uniform and he picked it up and gave it to me. I looked in all my pockets and thanked God that I still had it.

I handed him a picture I always carried with me. It was the five of us on a normal day, us standing on the beach during a sunset, all of us smiling. I gestured to Axe and Marcus and slowly said, "Go back to the mountain, please. If you see these two, bring them here. They're with me. Tell them that you know me and I'm here. Understand?"

He nodded his head and I continued. "If they point a gun at you, hold your hands up and slowly take out this picture and show it to them. Please. When you come back, I need that picture back."

He nodded again and smiled at me. I smile back and lie down, resting my head on the pillow, and covering myself with the blankets. My thoughts kept wandering towards Mike and Danny. Mike's words never left my head, they were so loud and clear, it was like he was next to me, saying them over and over again. _We're gonna be watching out for you, whether you know it or not. You're not gonna die…not here._

Maybe he was right. I hoped that Axe and Marcus made it out and if they didn't, then I knew they were also watching and taking care of me. Whether I knew it or not. I prayed that night, probably the first time in years. I prayed to God and hoped at least one of them was ok. I fell asleep, thinking about my team and wishing that this was all a nightmare and when I wake up, we would still be at base.

I woke up late the next day. It was bright and sunny, as if nothing was wrong in the world. Such as false belief. Everything was wrong in the world. I grunt as I try to sit up, my shoulder aching as I used its strength to push myself up. My ribs were sore, as well as every other part in my body. I look at my nightstand and see there's a plate of food and another water bottle.

I smile as I calmly eat my food and drink my water. Just as I was finishing up, two men came in the room and forced me to my feet but carefully. They dragged me outside and into another building, being quick but trying not to hurt me. I grunted in pain every few seconds but I pulled through.

As we came close to one house, I heard a familiar voice yelling, "Where is she?! Where's the girl?! Tell me where she is! You said she was here!"

At that moment, I walk in the house and see a face I thought I lost. All the breath left my body as we stare at each other, him sitting on the bed and me still standing in the doorway. I swallow a lump in my throat as I slowly and carefully make my way towards him. He watched my every move as I walked forward. I stopped in front of him and stood there before he took my hand and led me to sit next to him.

He stares in my eyes as he puts a hand on the side of my face, stroking my cheek with his thumb. He pauses for a moment before quickly yanking me close to him, his arms tightly wrapped around my shoulders. I throw my arms around his waist and my hands form into little balls of fists, gripping tightly to his uniform. I rest my head on his shoulder and I realize his whole body is shaking as he holds me.

I start to silently sob in his shoulder and he starts to rock me back and forth, stroking my hair. "It's ok. It's ok, I'm here, now. We're both gonna be ok. I'm right here, Chris."

"I thought I lost you, Marcus. I thought you were gone, too."

As we stayed in each other's arms, we started to hear many yelling and barking coming from outside. Turan looked out the window as we stared his way. I gently pull away from Marcus and look out the window and see Taliban's wandering around the town with guns out. Before I could register anything, Tali's came in the house we were in and dragged us out. Marcus and I were struggling but both weak from our latest experience.

We got outside and one of the leaders punch Marcus in the face, causing him to fall to the ground. I struggle even more, yelling and cussing at them. I break free and punch the leader but he quickly turns my way and fires his gun. Marcus looks up quickly, yelling, "No, Chris!"

I look down and saw a hole in my shirt but it was a baggy shirt and it went through, not hitting me. I stay standing tall, showing I was strong and not giving up on my country or my boys. They pick Marcus back up and drag us to some log that had one large spot of blood. It hit me, then, what that was for. I start struggling more, as well as Marcus.

They force him to his knees over the bloody spot on the log. I realize that the leader was Taraq. He bends down and starts slapping him in the face. Marcus looks at him and yells, "Fuck you!"

"Fuck you, Americayee! Cry, motherfucker!"

He slapped and punched my best friend more and more, everyone yelling and screaming. Marcus spits blood out at Taraq, shocking him. "Fucking do it! Fucking do it, you fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"

Taraq grips Marcus' hair and yanks on it, making him look at the bastard. "I'm gonna cut your heads off and send it to your fucking American…" he starts rambling in his own language, trailing off.

He stands up and raises his knife, getting ready to kill Marcus. The men hold me back as I try to make it to him, screaming his name. The second he was about to bring the knife down, a few gunshots were heard, close to us. Everyone stopped and looked to see who it was. There was Gulab and many other men behind him; all had guns in their hands and pointing them at the Tali's.

Gulab and Taraq started yelling but Taraq and his men began leaving, so I was able to run over to Marcus and crouch down next to him as he was trying to control his breathing. Once they were away from us, the village people came over to us and helped us to our feet, being firm but gentle with our wounds.

Marcus got up, out of breath and asked, "Why are you doing this for us?"

Gulab began saying, "Fuck Taliban! Fuck Taliban!"

I smiled at him, knowing he felt the same way as us. They brought us back in the house and then left except Turan. He stood there and watched us as Marcus was breathing heavy and loud, panting and sweating as I leaned against the wall, trying to remain calm. Marcus looked at the boy and tried to say nicely, "I need a knife. Knife. To cut." He began pretending to cut his hand, using an invisible knife. "Knife. You know, knife? Cut? Ok? Go get a knife."

Turan stared at him hard and began to slowly say, "Knife."

I smiled at the little child, being so young and innocent. "Yes! Yes, a knife, to cut. Ok? Go. Go get me a knife. Please? Please."

He left and it was just the two of us. I stared at my best friend, scared I might lose him. "What's wrong? Where are you hurt?"

He lazily looked up at me and swallowed. "Everywhere, what do you think?! Right now, it's my leg."

I carefully bend down to the floor and rest on my knees. I look at his leg and saw metal chunks stuck in his leg, bleeding. I flinch at the sight but I turn around when I hear a 'quack'. I see Turan coming back, looking timid while holding a duck. I almost smiled at him, seeing this boy clueless. Marcus sighed and desperately said, "No, I….I said a knife. That's not a knife."

"Knife." Turan said.

"No. It's not a knife. It's a fucking duck! I need a knife. You know, knife? To cut."

"Knife." The boy insisted.

I actually smiled and chuckled at the scene. Marcus quickly turns to me, his eyes filled with anger. "What, you think this is funny?! You try having pieces of metal in your leg, see how you feel! Jesus Christ!"

I look down, ashamed. At that moment, Gulab slowly walks in and looks between us. Before Marcus can say anything else, I take a small step, careful of my leg and wounds and announce, "Gulab."

He looks at me for a moment before asking, "Crystal?"

I smiled, knowing he got it right and we are on understanding terms. "We need a knife. Please, a knife."

"Chaku." He nods in understanding and leaves the room for a moment before coming back with a large knife in his hand. "Chaku?"

"Yes!" I limped over to him and took it from him, walking back to my wounded brother. Marcus tried to take it from my hand but I gave him a warning look. "No, I got it. Focus on your breathing and try to think of something else. It'll be over soon."

I rip open his pants where his wounds were and I take off his coat. I give him the sleeve part and he takes it in his mouth, to bite on and not to yell out. I take the knife and carefully but quickly take the small piece out of his shin. His breathing became loud and uneven, his face becoming redder by the second. I grab one of his hands in my free one and he takes my free hand in both of his, squeezing it tightly.

I take the next one out, the second one taking more time. It flies to the floor once I get it out of his knee. His breathing becomes worse and I worry he might pass out. I run my thumb against one of his hands and quickly whisper, "It's ok. It's gonna be ok, we're almost done. One more, alright? One more and then we're done. Just hang in there."

He took the sleeve out of his mouth and bit down on his dog tags instead. I realize the last one is gonna be harder and more painful. I take the point of the knife and carefully dig it in his skin, right where the metal was. I lift the torn skin and by then, my hand was shaking. I needed my other hand to take the metal out but I knew he wasn't going to let my hand go. I gestured for Gulab to grab it and thankfully, he did.

When I looked up, I saw he had passed out but it was like he was having a seizure with the way he was breathing. After I was done and threw the metal away, me, Gulab, and Turan began to clean him. I was wiping the blood away, Gulab was patching up his wounds, and Turan was putting him in some clothes, similar to mine.

That night, every man and most children walked around the village with guns, looking out towards the mountains for protection. I stayed in the room and watched Marcus as he slept, it bringing me comfort as I watched his chest rise and fall while he breathed. I sat on the floor and let Turan have the other bed during the night but I was surprised when he climbed out of the bed and sat next to me.

He curled up against my side as I threw my arm around him, pulling him close. I've been here for about a day or two now and I've never seen the boy with another woman, such as a mother or sister. I wondered if his father was all he had. I was broken out of my thoughts as he spoke, pointing to me. "Name? Chrisle?"

I smiled at him, giving him a squeeze. "No, it's Crystal. You can call me Chris. Can you call me that? Chris."

He looks up at me with big, brown, childlike eyes. "Chris?"

"Yea, there you go."

He smiled back at me, wrapping his arms around my waist as mine were still around his shoulders. "Chris." He closed his eyes and rests his head against my chest. I sigh, closing my eyes and leaning my head back on the bed that was behind me. I fell asleep with the faces of Danny, Axe, and Mike in my mind.

I was being woken by someone shaking my body, gently. I groaned as I wanted it to stop but it continued. I opened my sleepy eyes and found Turan there, looking at me with innocent, kind eyes. "Up." He tugged on my shirt, trying to get me to stand. "Up."

I smiled as I carefully and slowly got up, the pain becoming not as bad but still sore and painful. I see Marcus sitting up and eating and drinking water as if he hasn't had any in weeks. I understood his pain, I was him earlier, but I had food and water yesterday and the day before. I hesitantly sat next to him, not knowing if he and I were ok.

Gulab pointed to the single star on his uniform and asked, "Americayee?"

"Texas." Marcus nodded his head, looking at him.

"Americayee?" he then pointed to the American flag.

"Yes, Texas. America is Texas, yes."

"Tex." Turan said.

"Texas." I corrected, smiling at him.

"Texas." He smiled back, eager to learn new words it seemed.

Marcus stared between the boy and father and questioned, "Why are you doing this for us?"


	7. Return

**Return**

The moment he asked that question, the wall we were next to, exploded, throwing us in the air. Gulab grabbed Marcus and got him out of the house as Turan helped me up and did the same for me. He led us to an abandoned house and let Marcus fall on his back, on a pile of carpets to let him take a breather.

I heard a noise and saw someone right behind me. Turan ran in front of me and yelled something at the man but he smacked him. I grew angry and charged after the Tali and tried to tackle him with all my strength, no matter how weak I was, I was going to defend and protect my brother and Turan. The Tali quickly threw me against the wall and my head smashed into it, making everything go black.

When I woke up, I felt my body being grabbed and lifted from the ground. I looked up and saw soldiers all around me and Marcus. American soldiers. I groaned as I was lifted and I heard an unfamiliar American voice say, "It's alright, Crystal. You're safe now, you're going home."

I was being carried out of the house by two soldiers, as was Marcus. I pass Gulab and his son but I quickly turned around, giving them a nod, "Thank you! Thank you."

I was about to turn around but Turan quickly runs towards me and hugs my waist, tightly. I hug him back, not wanting to let go. I've only known this little boy for a day and I felt responsible for him. As he let me go, he put something in my hand. I looked at it and smiled as I realized it was my picture of the five of us at the beach.

I turn to Turan and quickly say, "I'll see you again! I promise I'll see you again!"

I didn't know if he understood me or not but I knew I would see him in the future. They took us to the chopper and I couldn't help but cry out. Was this for real or was I dreaming? Would we be shot down and have to fight again? Are we really going home, where it's safe, where we don't have to kill? I didn't want to believe it but it was so hard not to. It was real. We were going home. Finally. They put me to sleep once we got on the chopper and I was met with darkness.

The entire time I was asleep, I didn't really sleep. It was like I was being haunted. I kept seeing flashes and images and even some memories of Danny, Mike, and Axe. I didn't want to be reminded that they were really gone but there was no use in trying. I saw it with my own eyes. They were gone and all I had were memories of them being shot and their last words running through my mind.

I woke up with a start, gasping for breath. I look wildly around the room and spot a doctor near my bed, looking at the machines with a clipboard in his hands. He doesn't turns to me as he speaks. "Good to see you're back with us. We were sure we're gonna loose ya." I look up at him, confusingly and he realized I don't know what happened. "You lost a lot of blood, had a bad concussion, and many fatal wounds."

"M—Marcus Luttrell." I say, without thinking.

"Excuse me?"

"Marcus Luttrell. How is he, is he alright?"

"I'm not sure, he's not my patient. Sorry. Maybe you can see him once you start healing."

The doctor walks out of my room and I spot the clothes I got from Gulab, in the corner of the room, sitting on a chair. I grab them and change into them, walking out the door. I walked around until I found a young nurse, probably around my age. "Excuse me, could you tell me where Marcus Luttrell is?"

"Ma'am, if you're a patient here, you should be in your room." She says, quietly and nicely.

I contained myself from rolling my eyes but I couldn't help but snap, "Listen, lady, I just got went from hell and back. I saw my three best friends die, who were also my brothers. Marcus is all I have left. Now, unless you want to go through hell, I suggest you tell me where he is."

She looks shocked but nods, anyway. She leads me down a few hallways from my own room and stops in front of a door. "He's in here. He might be asleep so try to be quiet."

I nod my head as I quietly open the door and peek inside. There he was, lying on his bed, bandaged up but awake. He turned towards the door when he heard the door close and smiled when he saw me. I smiled back and made my way towards him, grabbing his hand. He looks up at me with tired eyes and weakly says, "They said you weren't gonna make it."

"They lied. I'm ok, just a little sore. Don't worry about me, though, just worry about healing yourself."

I sit down in the chair next to his bed and we sit in silence together, holding hands. I look down as tears sting my eyes again as I knew I had to say what I was about to say. "Marcus, I'm sorry."

"For what?" He looks at me with a puzzling look.

"This is all my fault." I whisper, shaking my head.

"How the fuck is any of this your fault, Chris?"

"If I had been on watch when I was supposed to, those guys wouldn't have found us and told where we were." I trail off, looking away.

"Hey! Don't you _dare_ think any of this is your fault! You suffered just as much as the rest of us! We were all just wounded differently, alright? I never should have said anything like that to you, that was below the belt. I crossed the line on that one."

"But, what if you were right? I should have been doing my job and—"

"And what if _you_ were right, huh? We were all exhausted and we needed the rest. Any one of us would've done the same as you, understand?"

I smiled gratefully at him, eyes shining. "Yeah. Thanks, Marcus." It was silent between us again until I asked the question we were both wondering. "What are we gonna do?"

"…I don't know…"

"How the hell are we supposed to move on after what we saw? Our best friends and brothers died for us! How are we supposed to cope with that?"

"We'll get through it. I promise! We'll stick together, just like we've always done. They'd want that." I look at him with uncertain and sensitive eyes. He returns the look but with comfort and protection in his eyes. "I promise, we'll stay together. Nothing will tears us apart."

"But I don't know what to do." I say softly, looking down. "I don't know how I could possibly live my life after all this."

"You'll figure it out. You seem to forget that you're a smart girl, Crystal. You really are. We'll get through this. I'll be there for ya, every step of the way."

I give him a half smile and thankfully, he returns it. The whole time we were recovering, we would visit one another, comfort each other, reminiscent stories about our brothers who we lost, and even talk about what we would do once we healed and came back to the normal world. We didn't know what we would do. All I knew was that I had to make myself a life and a future, just like Mike had told me. I have a life ahead of me…I just don't know it, yet.


	8. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Six months have passed since that week. Six months have passed since I came back. Six months have passed since I lost my three brothers. I was getting ready to go out, buttoning my blue plaid shirt as I was walking towards the door. I grabbed my boots and sat down on the couch to tie them up and lastly, I grabbed my winter jacket and slipped it over my shoulders.

"Mama!"

I smiled as I heard the two small voices call me from upstairs. I turn around and find Turan and Danny running down the stairs to greet me at the door. They wraps their arms around my waist and hugged me tightly and I gave their shoulders a gentle squeeze. I crouch down to their level and give them a small smile. "Hey, you two. We're gonna head out to go see the boys, alright?"

They give me a smile back and nod their heads. I give them a pat on the head as I stand back up and open the door. Turan and Danny grab their coats and walk out the door before me, waiting at the car. I open the car door for them and help them buckle up. I get in the driver's seat and start up the car before backing out and heading to our destination.

As I was driving I was thinking about everything that happened in the past six months. About a month after we both were healed, I went back to the village and found Gulab and Turan. I couldn't help but ask if I could spend more time with Turan and we both agreed he needed a mother figure in his life. It turned out that every other month, he would stay with me. I would teach him new American things and teach him how to speak English.

Everyday, he was so happy to learn something new. The first time Turan went back home to his father, I realized I loved having a child with me so I adopted. The adoption center I went to wasn't good, considering the boy I took had no name. They had him for a couple years, his whole life, and they never bothered to give him a name. They just called him whatever he wanted to be called.

The young boy I took was about Turan's age and height. He had dark, brown hair with deep green eyes, just like my brother Danny Dietz. After I had adopted the young boy, I chosen a name for him and for some reason, he loved it. Danny Michael. Half the time I would call him Danny, or Mike, or even his full name. I don't know why it came up, but they both insisted that they call me 'mama'. I wasn't complaining at all, I liked it. It somehow made me feel special.

I saw our destination out of the corner of my eyes and I turned the wheel. I parked at the curb and made no move to get out. I leaned forward and rest my head on the steering wheel, taking a loud, deep, shaky breath. I damn near jumped when I heard a small voice behind me. "Mama ok?"

I turned around slightly and gave Turan a tiny smile. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

I get out of the car and help the two young kids out. We walk away from the vehicle and we walk around the place, trying to find my boys. I finally found them and my 'sons' stand at my side as I bend down and sit on my knees. Tears sting my eyes and I squeeze them shut, not wanting them to fall. I take another deep breath, trying to suppress a sob. In front of me were my three best friends, who were my brothers.

_Michael Patrick Murphy_

_LT US Navy_

_Afghanistan_

_Silver Star_

_Purple Heart_

_May 7, 1976_

_June 28, 2005_

_US Navy SEAL_

_**Our Hero**_

A tear slides down my cheek and I leave it there, not wiping it away. Usually, I would wipe it away as fast as I could, not wanting to show weakness but if Mike Murphy taught me anything, it's that it was alright to show weakness at times. Things may be hard and when you can't change them, do the next best thing. Accept them. This was one of those times and I didn't want it to be.

_Danny P. Dietz JR._

_GM2 SEAL_

_US Navy_

_Afghanistan Kia_

_Jan 26, 1980_

_June 28, 2005_

_Navy Cross_

_Siler Star PH_

_Eternal Love Wife and Family_

Another tear fell and I ended up taking my picture out of my pocket. Danny was always there for me during my times in need. Whenever I fell down, he was right there to pick me back up. Whenever I was wounded, he was there to make sure I was alright. Whenever I was close to death, he would jump in front of me and take the hit himself, protecting me.

_Matthew G. Axelson_

_STG2 (SEAL) U.S. Navy_

_June 25, 1976 June 28, 2005_

_Operation Enduring Freedom_

_Kunar Province Afghanistan_

_Unconditionally loving husband,_

_Son, brother and friend._

_You will always be in our hearts._

I grip the picture in my hand tightly, but being careful, not wanting to crumple it. Axe had always cheered the team up whenever we needed it. He would make us laugh and smile when we wanted to breakdown. He always had a joke up his sleeve and whenever we tried to tease him over something, he would take no offense. He would play along with the joke, like he planned it.

I sniffed and wiped my face so there were no more tears. I stood up and looked down at the tombstones. I didn't have flowers or anything to put on their graves. I knew they wouldn't want me to give them _flowers_. They would joke and say that they were men and they didn't need any girlie things such as flowers. The three would tell me to just come by and pay them my respect. And that's what I intended to do.

I felt a small hand slip in mine and I saw Turan looking up at me, tears in his own eyes that were filled with concern, sadness, and comfort. I gave him a tiny smile and gave his hand a slight squeeze, then turned back to look at the tombstones. Turan understood the pain. He lost his mother and he saw the pain Marcus and I went through when we first met. Danny didn't remember his parents. I'm the only mother he's ever known and Turan is his only friend.

"I thought I'd find you here."

I turn around to find my last brother, who was the other only survivor of that un-forgetful day. He and I were the only ones who made it out and sometimes, I was thankful I was still here but other times, it tore me apart, wishing it would have been me instead of any of them.

Marcus walked up next to me and held my other hand, looking at the stones just as I was, moments ago. The cold wind blew softly, making my hair brush against my face a little. I bend down for a moment and tell my boys, "Why don't you two walk around for a bit? Uncle Marcus and I have to talk about something important, ok?" Thankfully, they both agreed and once they were far enough, I turned to my best friend. "You think they'd be proud that we were tryin' to live our lives again?"

He turns his head and our eyes meet. We stare for a moment before he nods and quietly answers, "Yeah. Yeah, I think they would."

"…I don't even know what I'm doin' anymore, Marcus. Right now in my life, I'm just bullshittin' my way through."

"I'd think they'd be happy to know that you're at least tryin'. Don't forget, I went through the same thing. I was there, too."

"I know, I'm sorry. Sometimes I just wish that it was me instead of them, though. Don't you?"

Marcus sighs as he nods his head. "Yeah. I think about that a lot." We stood there for a moment in silence, neither of us talking. The only thing you could hear was the wind blowing, our light breathing, and the two young boys wandering around. "C'mere."

I turn towards him and see he has his arms open, inviting me in. I practically jump in his arms and hug him tightly, my hands turning to fists, gripping onto his uniform. I try to control my breathing as I try not to cry. I haven't cried since the day we got back. I wanted to breakdown so many times since then but I knew that I needed to be strong. Mike Murphy told me to stay strong.

Marcus wraps his arms around my shoulders and keeps me close. He rests his head against mine and slowly rocks me back and forth, as if I was a child. "We've been through a lot of shit together, haven't we?"

"Yeah, I guess so. But, we'll stick together, right?"

"'Till the end." He places a kiss on my forehead and we slowly pull apart.

We look back at the stones one last time before turning away. I call the boys back over and I picked Danny up while Marcus picked up Turan. We walked back to the car, side by side and as we walked away from the cemetery, where my brothers were buried, something popped into my head.

_"Chris, I have never met anyone braver than you. You're stronger than any person I've ever known. You have a life ahead of you…you just don't know it, yet. You won't lose us. I'm gonna be watching you, you can count on that. And so will Danny. We're gonna be watching out for you, whether you know it or not. Just stay strong, alright? You're not gonna die…not here. We're gonna be takin' care of you. I'm proud of you. Remember that, Crystal."_

I almost smiled at the memory and I would have if it wasn't such a painful memory to remember. Not only are Danny and Mike watching me, but Axe is too. They will always be watching over Marcus and I. Mike Murphy's words to me that day have never left my head. I remember them every day when I get up in the morning and when I go to bed at night. His words to me that day, before he died, will stay with me until the day I die and perish from this world.

There's a storm inside of us. I've heard many team guys speak of this. A burning. A river. A drive. An unrelenting desire to push yourself harder and further than anyone could think possible. Pushing ourselves into those cold, dark corners. Where the bad things live. Where the bad things fight. We wanted that fight at the highest volume. Aloud fight. The loudest, coldest, darkest, most unpleasant fight.

Brave men have fought and died, building the proud tradition and fear of reputation that I am bound to uphold. I died up on that mountain. There is no question a part of me will forever be up on that mountain, dead. As my brothers died. But there is a part of me that lived because of my brothers. Because of them, I am still alive. And I can never forget that no matter how much it hurts, how dark it gets, or how hard you fall…you are never out of the fight.


End file.
